Bookshelf Report: Amanda Winterhalter and the Giant Fist

Amanda Winterhalter, Bushwick performer and program volunteer, takes the stage this Saturday at The Bushwick Book Club Presents: Original Music Inspired by The Little Prince. Before we see her then, let’s take a look around her home to see where all her books live.

Generally, I order my books by genre (British Lit, American Lit, Poetry, World Lit, Nonfiction/Textbooks, Memoir and Essay, etc.), and then alphabetically by author name within genre. I was an English major, which basically means I joined a very expensive book club for four years and collected a lot of cool novels and anthologies. And I like order and systems. However, I don’t always put books back where they belong.

Mmmm… I’ve probably read 70%. I haven’t been reading as much as I used to in the last few years, and I keep collecting more books faster than I can read them.

Ohhhhhh, it’s too hard to pick just one all-time favorite. Today, my favorite is Red Bird, by Mary Oliver. It brings me comfort whenever I go back to it.

 

Next I’m going to read either The Spider and the Fly, by Claudia Rowe, or This is Women’s Work, by Dominique Christina. An early short story version of Claudia Rowe’s book inspired one of my best songs, “The Spider,” and her book just released in January. She’s an amazing writer, and the story is fascinating, but I know it’s going to be a heavy read (it’s a true story about a serial killer), and I’ve been reading heavy stuff recently, so I might want something a little more lifting. I’ve been wanting to read Dominique Christina’s stuff for a while.

Who’s fist is that?

The fist is my ex-boyfriend’s. He’s a crafty guy and has a cool Etsy shop. A while ago he was making a bunch of hand casts and painting them and I thought the fist was cool so I got it as shelf jewelry.

Are you saving the whiskey to drink when you read a special book?

 

Wh at is the #1 Brain Rule from Brain Rules?

Thanks for letting us poke around your shelves, Amanda.